The Tulane Entrepreneurs Association Announces the Start of the 2012 Tulane Business Plan Competition and The Domain Companies New Orleans Entrepreneurial Challenge—$70,000 in Cash Prizes to be Awarded

After three rounds of competition, the winner of the Tulane Business Plan Competition will take home a cash prize of $50,000. TEA’s competition partner and sponsor, The Domain Companies, will award an additional $20,000 cash prize to the plan that demonstrates the greatest economic impact to the city of New Orleans. The cash prizes will provide financial support to help grow the ventures. The Tulane Business Plan Competition is open to applicants from throughout the world whose ventures espouse the principles of conscious capitalism, and The Domain Companies Entrepreneur Challenge will provide the additional prize to New Orleans-based ventures.

To enter, student contestants must draft a six-page (maximum) executive summary by January 22, 2012. The entry fee is $100. A set of first round judges will select the top 20 plans to advance to the next round of the competition. For the second round, selected teams must submit a 30-page (maximum) business plan by February 28, 2012. After the second round of competition, the judges will select three finalists to participate in the final round of the Tulane Business Plan Competition and three finalists to participate in the final round of The Domain Companies New Orleans Entrepreneur Challenge.

The final, live-round competition of the Tulane Business Plan Competition and The Domain Companies Entrepreneur Challenge will take place on April 13, 2012 at Tulane University’s A.B. Freeman School of Business in New Orleans, Louisiana. The event is open to the public. The final round teams will present in front a live audience to a panel of judges who will select the winners of both competitions. Students and community members are encouraged to attend and learn about entrepreneurship.

“The competition continues to attract some of the most talented student entrepreneurs from around the globe. Our goal is to continue to grow the competition by focusing on the principles of conscious capitalism. We believe that students are more dedicated than ever to creating businesses that align the interests of all of their stakeholders,” said Court Robinson, TEA President.

“Since the downturn in the economy, more students are pursuing entrepreneurial career paths,” said John Elstrott, Director of the Levy-Rosenblum Institute for Entrepreneurship. “That combined with the Tulane Business Plan Competition’s focus on Conscious Capitalism, businesses making a difference in the world, will surely lead to a high number of quality entries in this year’s competition.”